# Re-Upped my Cigar Oasis (picture intensive)



## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

Well, thanks to Hazman i am now using active hydration.
Then, thanks to SeanGAR i am now cooking with gas. He let me know about some hydration crystals that i could find at a local craft store.
Here's the Idea:
People claim that unwanted fungle infections can occur to the original cigar oasis' foam core. So i figured that i needed to switch to something that had less of a risk of mold, and would work equally as well.
The best part is... I NEVER have to buy another oasis cartridge. I will simply buy 2 bucks worth of hydro crystals and put them in this now emptied cartridge.
*This is the last cartridge you'll ever have to buy!!*

Anyhow, i wanted to take you through the process that i blindly kinda "made up".

We start off with the two packages.
The "Cracked ice" was 5.99 and it makes 2.5 gallons. The Water jewels were 99 cents and are for 1 gallon... so i bet the 99 cents jobber will last 1-2 years. BOOM.









OK, now, how we started off. I took Seans advice and broke up all the material in the old cartridge.. and ran water through it to expell the broken chunks. 25 minutes later, worked like a charm.

























Here are the two poking/crushing utensils..

















And here is a piece of the floral foam. i didnt see any mold. But, i wanted to make sure that it never happens!









Here are the water jewels. they are perfectly round, not chipped or rugged.

And, i used a microwaved spray bottle of water to wet them. I started off misting them, but just ended up soaking them, they ate the water up nicely. I think it took about 2 hours to get them to "juicy".

Here we have the 5.99 cracked ice, i decided to use this set in the end for my oasis. Note - i used 1/2 a tablespoon of beads in each case. they all ended up puffing up to about 20x the original size.

i started out with a sauce cup... but that was dumb, it outgrew the cup within 20 mins.


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

Here they are.. side bu side, about 10 mins into thw whole thing... about 2-3 times their original size.



a little further in....



approaching 40 mins... note, they are only about 5-6 times the original size.. but you will see that they RAMP UP considerably in 16 minutes.




1.5 hours in.... fully sized... they didnt grow any further in the next hour....




5.99 ice





Jewels






Side by side...



The Jewel... before.. .and after.


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

2.5 hours... Ready to go in the oasis. I put them in via a funnel i made from the handle of a gallon bottle.





All Done...




I'm bagging these up.




So yeah, i'm overall happy... i hope i did it correctly. ITs nice to know that it's only going to cost me a couple bucks a year to keep it up.

A word of caution... make sure to clean the cartridge thoroughly, make sure to clean it with hot soapy water.

Give the crystals (whichever ones you use) a couple of hours to fully puff out. you dont want to over fill the cartridge. Also, i know this...The round ones reqire a half tablespoon MAX! The cracked ice could use a "dash" more..


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## zitro_joe (Oct 6, 2008)

I was just wondering what to do with the two I just recieved. One is the one you have and the the other is the XL. I might have to stop over a Hobby Lobby tomorrow.


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

booyah, good pickups joe!!


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## chippewastud79 (Sep 18, 2007)

Hope that works well in your cabinet :tu



s15driftking said:


> booyah, good pickups joe!!


 Booyah? Might want to find a new catch phrase :2:r


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

chippewastud79 said:


> Hope that works well in your cabinet :tu
> 
> :2:r


my desktop?


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## chippewastud79 (Sep 18, 2007)

s15driftking said:


> my desktop?


Thats going to be overkill in something as small as a desktop, should have just got some RH Beads and called it a day :2


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## tzaddi (Feb 24, 2007)

You certainly don't lack any enthusiasm and from the looks of it you had a great time doing the "re-up" and documenting it, I think that is the most important part. Some say, idle hands are the devil's workshop and you my boy are a little bit closer to heaven.


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## zitro_joe (Oct 6, 2008)

chippewastud79 said:


> Thats going to be overkill in something as small as a desktop, should have just got some RH Beads and called it a day :2


Really one is going in my desktop and the other in one of the vinos. Why do you think it is over kill, one is able to regulate rh% on the COs,right?


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

chippewastud79 said:


> Thats going to be overkill in something as small as a desktop, should have just got some RH Beads and called it a day :2


I started off with Heartfelt beads... no dice, 61-62% max.... had to go active!


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## chippewastud79 (Sep 18, 2007)

s15driftking said:


> I started off with Heartfelt beads... no dice, 61-62% max.... had to go active!


Have you checked your seal?:tu


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

chippewastud79 said:


> Have you checked your seal?:tu


2nd to last post

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=202259&page=2


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## chippewastud79 (Sep 18, 2007)

In your thread you said they were holding at 62-63%. What was wrong with that? Sounds like you are getting a little too paranoid, but they are your smokes, you will figure out that less is more sooner or later :tu


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## GrtndpwrflOZ (May 17, 2007)

HUH


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

chippewastud79 said:


> In your thread you said they were holding at 62-63%. What was wrong with that? Sounds like you are getting a little too paranoid, but they are your smokes, you will figure out that less is more sooner or later :tu


The number 65 jsut sounds so nice and round, hehe


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## jimmy (May 1, 2003)

i've seen less detailed instructions on how to cook up meth ;-)

i use an oasis in a cooler and have for years. the tops pop off of the cartridges most of the time. might be an easier way to get the green florist foam out. just a thought.


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## UPHOTO (May 21, 2008)

Anybody REALLY know how long these provide moisture? How many did you put into the cartridge? Did you fill it up?


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## rayray812 (Sep 9, 2008)

driftking, hows they hydro readiong?? im gonna watch this thread for a week or so & looking to juice mine also


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

UPHOTO said:


> Anybody REALLY know how long these provide moisture? How many did you put into the cartridge? Did you fill it up?


this will be a progressive thread. stay tuned.

i assuem that i will have to recharge the crystals once every 1-2 months....

The thing is, i have an air freshener that looks like its the same thing (water jelly beads) and its been in an airy low RH hallway for about 2 months and the little balls have become about half their sizes in that 2 month span... so maybe they will go even longer than 1-2 months.

I assume the beads were charged with a scented liquid so that they would give off a scent...

Regardless ,stay tuned. I filled the cartridge about 75% of the way with these little suckers.

Which was a little over a half a tablespoon undrenched


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

rayray812 said:


> driftking, hows they hydro readiong?? im gonna watch this thread for a week or so & looking to juice mine also


Well, after 4 hours of them in the Oasis at full blast we hit 67... so i packed the knob down to about 80% of "full blast" and i woke up this morning to them at 65%... trial and error baby!


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## CigarmanTim (Apr 5, 2008)

I was at hobby lobby near springfield yesterday and couldn't find either one of these products. Will check Heath today.


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

craft stores bud, not hobby stores.

Check out a Michaels or a joAnn Fabrics


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## zitro_joe (Oct 6, 2008)

s15driftking said:


> craft stores bud, not hobby stores.
> 
> Check out a Michaels or a joAnn Fabrics


Sweet, I need pick out a new pattern anyhow.


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## HAZMAN (Jul 2, 2005)

Good to see things are working for you. I like your thinking changing out the internals of the cartridge.


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

BTW, ^^^^ this could have not been possible without you. you are amazing!


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## LARAIDER (Sep 1, 2007)

I just purchased a new cartridge for my XL and I still have the old one, I will be trying this. Thanks for the detailed instructions.


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## zitro_joe (Oct 6, 2008)

bought cracked ice today


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

awesome joe, mine is holind a steady 65-66%


I AM IN HEAVEN!!!


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## tzaddi (Feb 24, 2007)

tzaddi said:


> You certainly don't lack any enthusiasm and from the looks of it you had a great time doing the "re-up" and documenting it, I think that is the most important part. Some say, idle hands are the devil's workshop and you my boy are a little bit closer to heaven.





s15driftking said:


> awesome joe, mine is holind a steady 65-66%
> 
> I AM IN HEAVEN!!!


See&#8230; I told you


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## lesf (Jul 25, 2008)

Anyone know if this same procedure is possible with the Humicare Electronic Humidifier? Or if this product is comparable to the Cigar Oasis? They seem to be very similar. Which is the better product, in your opinion?


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## rayray812 (Sep 9, 2008)

i re-upped my cartridges with the cracked ice,,,, didnt have much of choice, i never had a wicked jump shot


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## ronhoffman2 (Jun 8, 2008)

s15driftking, 
can you give us an update to your re-upped oasis after about a month and a half of use? is the humidity holding steady? have you had to add water and/or beads since the first fill?


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## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

the RH was staying steady at 66% for a month and all of a sudden dropped to 60% in the last week. It was also the start of the real snowy weather here in Columbus. 


So i added some PG to help "wet" things and we were back up to 66%.


BUT, today i transitioned everything into a vino and i put the Oasis in there yesterday at 8pm and its holding at 85% right now obviously because the wood wont allow for real soaking or fluctuation. 

So, i turned the Oasis from "full blast" (whcih it needed in the humidor) to "lowest possible" setting and threw some heartfelt 65% beads in there to help bring down the RH... now its right at 69% 


More to come.


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## ronhoffman2 (Jun 8, 2008)

thanks for the update. keep us current as the weeks go on. i may give this a shot.


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## Phantom57 (Jan 15, 2009)

Excellent work, but I don't have your ambition. I use a pound of Heartfelt beads and a CO XL Plus in my 5 cu. ft. cabinet. I don't ever recharge the CO, I just use it for the fan. The beads keep the cabinet at a constant 68-69% Rh.


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## FunkyCold5 (May 15, 2007)

Nice! Very descriptive. Love the pictures.


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## Buddha024 (Jul 31, 2008)

rayray812 said:


> i re-upped my cartridges with the cracked ice,,,, didnt have much of choice, i never had a wicked jump shot


Good one, Ray. R.I.P B.I.G.

:ss :w :ss


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## BruceT (Apr 2, 2009)

Good luck with that, But you should be good. Cigar Oasis is a good product.


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## MrMusicMan1 (Sep 5, 2008)

zitro_joe said:


> Sweet, I need pick out a new pattern anyhow.


Nice LMAO :roll:

Great pics! Nice job and thanks for the updates.


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